Will of Fire
by CalicoKitty17
Summary: The Will of Fire is to do anything and everything for the people you love and fight to kill and protect, even if you wanted nothing more than peace. (My OC won't have a pairing, but other characters will)


**Prologue: Part 1**

The Will of Fire was so much more than just teamwork.

It was when a shinobi slaughtered his family, leaving the person he loved most alive, to stop a civil war, and continue to become a missing-nin. It was when a shinobi, who was forced to become part of the ninja force and hated fighting, did it anyway to protect those she cared about.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Those haven't happened yet, but they will, and it all starts with the Uchiha clan, approximately three years before the Kyuubi attack with a chance encounter that changes everything.

…...

Mayuri Uchiha was the daughter of a noble in Bird Country. She had been offered to the Uchiha clan along with the crow summoning contract in exchange for three Chuunin to be sent to her father on a two-year guard duty. She was a very beautiful woman, the perfect prize, with luscious purple hair, pale skin, and full red lips. She also played the part as the dutiful wife; she did all the chores around the house and she supported her husband regardless of her personal opinions.

It was a trying job, and she never quite felt appreciated. Her husband, the half-brother of the Clan Head, was as skilled as the rest of his family in expressing emotions, which was to say, not at all. Honestly, most of the time, she considered herself nothing more than a glorified sex toy.

Until the stick turned blue.

Then everything changed. She knew she should tell her husband, but it was likely he would order her to abort it. The child would not be a full Uchiha, therefore it wasn't worth having. But Mayuri wanted to keep it. She wanted it enough to bear her husband's icy glares, his scorn, and any punishment he would come up with.

The child would be her reason for living. It was completely selfish, and it pained her to know the abuse her child would suffer. Mayuri needed somebody who would depend on her. She craved it more than anything else. Now, she would have it.

Uchiha clan be damned.

It wasn't as hard as it should have been, hiding her pregnancy. She didn't really socialize with anyone other than her husband, and he washardly ever home, but nevertheless, she took the time to learn a few minor genjutsu. Normally, a civilian wasn't permitted to shinobi techniques, but she was a Uchiha. Researching illusions didn't raise any red flags for someone of that clan.

It might have sounded stupid, using genjutsu of all things, to fool a Uchiha, but it wasn't so foolhardy if you lived with them. They depended on their Sharingan completely. Without it on, they couldn't find their way out of an illusionary cardboard box, and it wasn't exactly standard procedure to flash their kekkeigenkai around their wives. Isamu was only a Chuunin, and the genjutsu she had chosen were extremely subtle, an insignificant warp of the atmosphere focused on her stomach. Her husband wouldn't notice a thing.

Over the next nine months, she took to wearing baggy sweatshirts and yoga pants, much to Isamu's disapproval, but he didn't bother reprimanding her. She had turned into a veritable hermit, so it's not like she would walk around ruining his reputation. The genjutsu's hid what her choice of clothing didn't.

When it was finally time to have the baby, Isamu was on a mission. She calmly donned a thick shawl and made her way to the hospital. Nearly 36 hours later, she gave birth to a healthy, screaming baby girl and everybody knew that the Uchiha foreigner had added a new member to the clan.

Rei Uchiha.

Mayuri knew that the next few years would be difficult. Her husband and every other Uchiha would resent her and scorn her for keeping this a secret, for being able to keep it a secret, and she would have to do everything on her own. But holding the young newborn in her arms, staring down at an indignant red face, she couldn't help but simply not care.

As expected, her husband was practically spitting with fury when she got home, cradling a pink-wrapped bundle. She endured his yelling and cursing and name-calling and when he finally calmed down, she rose an eyebrow and said, "You're going to wake the baby."

And that was that. He still despised her and the child, but he never said another word. He began to come home later and take more missions, and she had no doubt of his extracurricular activities in the Red Light District, but there was no love lost. In fact, it was the best time of her life.

Rei depended completely on her. She didn't mind being woken up at 4 in the morning, or not getting to bed until after midnight, because it meant somebody needed her. Her daughter's first birthday was spent with the two of them, and Mayuri gave her a stuffed bird, in honor of where she came from. It was all she could afford, since her husband had cut her off from any extra financial funds. She wasn't permitted to pursue her own career.

Rei grew to look more like her mother than her father, so she was almost immediately written off as a lost cause and a disgrace. She had a tuft of violet hair on her head and brown eyes that guaranteed she would never cultivate the clan's prized kekkei genkai. Her tan skin was the only thing she inherited from Isamu.

Mayuri was glad for that. If Rei had ended up with the Sharingan, Isamu might have started to care enough to take over and turn her into some emotionless soldier.

She would rather die than let that happen.

When Rei was three years old, the Kyuubi attacked. Mayuri had been almost relieved that it was the demon. Her child had been fussy all day, whining and crying, almost pained and clutching her stomach saying, "Don't feel good."

Mayuri had been deathly afraid something was wrong with Rei, but it turned out that babies and toddlers were extremely sensitive to disturbances in nature chakra. Their coils were still forming and growing, feeding off the environment and changing the energy they absorbed from the Earth into chakra. It was a process that lasted approximately five years, until their coils were fully developed and their bodies began to reject the nature chakra for its own good.

The Genin had been ordered to evacuate the civilians, the Chuunin's were sent to the frontlines, and the Jonin backed them up, while they shot off powerful jutsu in an attempt to deter the beast. Mayuri, along with the other women and children, were herded to the tunnels built into and underneath the Monument. They were the very first defense measure Konoha built, near the beginning of its founding. They had been enforced with so many seals they were practically impenetrable.

However, the protection did nothing to deter the pure evil energy that washed over them or the earthshaking quakes. Mayuri hugged Rei tightly and tried to ignore a nearby baby screaming. Everyone else was deathly silent.

"You're a Uchiha?" A quiet voice asked from behind her. She turned quickly and came face to face with a very beautiful woman. Her features were aristocratic, giving her an ageless quality and her ebony hair was pinned up in a neat bun. "You have the uchiwa symbol on your shirt, but you don't look like a Uchiha." She explained.

"Mikoto-sama," Mayuri said, straightening and then bowing low. "I married into the clan. My name is Mayuri."

"Mayuri. I have heard of you from my husband." She mused. "You managed to hide your pregnancy from an entire clan."

Mayuri didn't move, but he was keenly aware of Rei standing a little ways away. It was doubtful the matriarch would do anything harmful, but it was better safe than sorry.

Another pulse of chakra slammed into them violently, slithering through their coils like a snake and leaving them wanting to retch. Dust and small rocks showered over them and several women shrieked. Mayuri was thrown to the ground, unbalanced and Mikoto stumbled with an audible gasp.

It was over less than a minute later, leaving everybody frightened and trembling.

How long would this last?


End file.
